South Korean shares are expected to move in a tight range next week amid a lack of clear cut momentum and investors' cautious stance on the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China, analysts here said Saturday.

The main index ended in the positive territory this week, posting a 2.05 percent gain from a week earlier. Foreigners bought 567.76 billion won ($507 million) worth of stocks, giving a boost to the index.

(Yonhap)

This week, the US-China trade talks to tackle bilateral trade disputes ended without tangible results being made. Although the outcome was expected, this development kept the KOSPI from rising further.

Export-oriented stocks such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. are anticipated to play major roles in investor sentiment in the coming week, analysts said.

"The annual US Fed meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from Thursday to Friday will influence the market," Kim Byoung-yeon, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co., said.

The KOSPI is expected to move between 2,240 and 2,320 next week amid concerns of a volatility in the financial markets of emerging economies due to the collapse of the Turkish currency and a trade war between the G2, according to local brokerages. (Yonhap)